SPSS
SPSS Explained: A Beginner's Guide for Students
What the two views mean, how to code your variables, and which test to run for the question you're asking.
· 9 min read
SPSS looks intimidating mostly because it opens on a blank spreadsheet with no instructions. Once you understand the two views and the logic of variable types, it becomes routine.
Data View vs Variable View
Variable View is where you define what each column means — name, type, labels, measure. Data View is where the responses live. Setting up Variable View properly first saves hours later.
Coding your questionnaire
- Give every question a short variable name (Q1, Age, Gender).
- Use numeric codes with value labels (1 = Male, 2 = Female).
- Set the measure correctly: nominal, ordinal or scale.
- Define missing values instead of leaving blanks unexplained.
Choosing a test
- Comparing two group means: independent-samples t-test.
- Comparing three or more group means: one-way ANOVA.
- Relationship between two scale variables: Pearson correlation.
- Relationship between two categorical variables: chi-square.
- Predicting a scale outcome: linear regression.
- Scale reliability: Cronbach's alpha.
Reporting results
Never paste raw SPSS output into your chapter. Rebuild it as a clean table, then write a sentence stating the test, the statistic, the significance value and what it means for your hypothesis.